Papa
by LaughingLadybug
Summary: "Papa, please don't leave me," Neal mentally winced. He sounded just like him at that age.


Sleep; sleep is what he needs, and that's what his parents let him do on the ship ride home. Neverland may be a place where children go in their dreams but it's a nightmare for adults. Henry had ripped his heart out of his own chest and handed it over to Peter Pan. If it wasn't for Neal, Henry would be dead. Neal, in a fit of rage, fought and killed Pan with his own sword, and with Pan dead the previous transaction reversed. Henry's heart went back into his chest and began to beat as it always had. Needless to say, Neal and Emma were in tears of joy as their son looked at them and asked what was wrong.

Now here they are on a boat, both watching him sleep as if Pan could come and take him away in his dreams. "We need to talk," Emma murmured to Neal as she leaned against his shoulder.

"About," he asked softly so not to wake Henry.

"Us, us as in you and me and us as in a family," Emma answered causing Neal to sigh. He saw this one coming.

"I was thinking about it too," he mumbled..

"Do you want to do what most divorced parents do and have him spend so much time with both of us or…"

"I actually had a different idea."

"Oh?"

"How 'bout you and I just…start over," he said bravely.

Silence; exactly what she was afraid of. Silence was Emma's deadliest weapon. Back in the day, her silence was what killed him fastest. Then, a miracle happened; Emma spoke. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay."

Neal nearly jumped for joy. She wanted him back just as much as he wanted her back. He was getting that second chance he always dreamed of and best of all he could be with Henry. Unable to control himself, Neal kissed Emma. Some much joy and love and passion was put into it that she couldn't help but melt in his arms. Just moments after they broke apart, the two heard a pathetic whimper come from Henry. "Momma, Papa," he whimpered. "Mom, Dad, please…help."

Neal got up and crept over to him. "Hey, bud, wake up. It's Dad, c'mon wake up." Henry's eyes cracked open at his father's request and threw his arms around him. He was shaking. Neal sighed and shook his head while stroking his hair and told him everything was okay. Pan's dead and he'd never lay a finger on him again. Henry visibly relaxed against him and rested his head on his shoulder, "It's gonna be okay."

Henry nodded and said, "Papa, please don't leave again." Neal mentally winced at the word Papa. Henry sounded so much like him at his age it was amazing. It made him proud that he had a mini him running around. This was easy to see. But then Henry called him Papa. Papa is what he called his father, Rumplestiltskin. The fact that his son was calling him Papa, just like he had called his father Papa, made him unnerved being as his father is the man who haunted his nightmares. But, Neal couldn't just turn his son away. Not now, not ever. So, he smiled and ruffled his hair.

"I won't, I promise," he swore.

"Where's Momma and where's Mom," Henry asked.

Neal rose an eyebrow, "Depends, which is which."

"She's Momma," he said, pointing to Emma, "and Regina is Mom."

"Wait, why are you calling me 'momma,' what happened to calling me 'mom,'" Emma asked.

"So you guys know who I'm talking about easier," he answered. Neal and Emma shared a look. Oh they'd know exactly who he's talking about when he said Mom; Emma. Why? Because Regina is gone. She got into a fight with the lost boys and they stabbed her through the heart with their poison spears. Should they tell him right now? No, he's had a rough enough week, no need to make it worse. Well at least that was her original intentions until Neal ruined that.

"Oh, okay," Emma said as she sat at the foot of Henry's bed. "Hey, can we ask you something?"

"Yeah Momma," he answered.

She suppressed a sigh. "How would you like it if your Dad and I lived together and you lived with us?" Even Neal was shocked by this statement but he didn't protest, he just smiled like an idiot; a sweet, sweet idiot. The expression Henry's face was priceless. He looked like you had just told him he was going to get to meet his heroes then after they'd take you all to Disneyland.

"I'd love too! But wait, what about Mom," he asked in concern. "I don't want her to be lonely."

Emma was about to come up with some clever excuse about them eating dinner with her every night at Granny's but Neal spoke first. "Buddy…she's dead." Naturally, Henry cried. This week had been too long, too hard and the boy had been too far from his family for that period of time for his liking. This news was the straw that broke the camel's back. His parents took turns taking care of him until he finally stopped crying and his breathing returned to normal. "I'm sorry, Henry. I know it's bad but-"

"Papa just promise you won't leave me, promise me that either of you won't," he plead.

"I promise," Neal and Emma said at the same time.

"So," Neal asked. "Do you want to go back to sleep or check out the ship?"

"Check out the ship,' Henry cheered. Before Emma knew it, father and son were racing up the stairs on onto the upper deck.

The whole time they were up there it was Papa this and Papa that, and every time it made Neal stop. It sounded like a younger him calling his father. In a way it made him feel proud and ashamed. Ashamed to have one thing about him similar to his father and proud that he had a son to call him Papa, a son that held some love and adoration for him the way he had held some for his father. Sure it'd take some getting used to but he would get used to it and grow to love it. His father, Mr. Gold (Rumplestiltskin), had hobbled up behind him and placed his good hand on his shoulder. "You've done a good job with him Bae."

"What do you mean? I haven't been in his life long enough to do anything," Neal asked.

"Yes but look at him. He's happier because of you, even a little more confident too,' the older man pointed out.

This made him smile. He had finally done something right, "Thank you, Papa."


End file.
